Up and Coming Climbers

This week I would like to share with you guys some of my favorite climbers. More of the recent guys on the scene from my time period. I will be talking about three different climbers, Chris Sharma the oldest and most experienced of the three. Secondly, Daniel Woods who I aspire to be in my climbing but he is on a world class level. Last but not least Paul Robinson, who is on the nationals climbing team with Daniel. Paul is still a world class climber but just a little less experienced than his competitors.

So, Chris Sharma is a World class rock climber, arguably one of if not the best climber in the world when it comes to bouldering. Chris is now around 33 years of age and has been climbing for most of his life. He has set many problems or routes for others to follow. He has also won many competitions in his career. Climbers do not make much money, even at the world class level which is unfortunate. If this changed it could really help the sport of climbing improve. Chris has recently been struggling a bit because he and many others have already climbed the most difficult problems in the world. Anything past V15 which is basically the hardest difficultly is just to painful on the body or impossible to climb.

Next up is Daniel Woods, he was an amazing climber from the start and was crushing crazy difficult climbs at the age of 8. He has won the American Bouldering Series 7 times in his career so far! As I said earlier I would like to be at his level but right now that would be impossible for me. I climb at about a V7 level, so about half Daniel's skill level. I have friends who have been climbing for over a year and are still at the V3-V5 level so it does take a lot of time and practice to become a great climber.

Lastly Paul Robinson, he climbs at the same level as Daniel and competes as his teammate on the American Nationals team. Daniel usually manages to snag the spotlight but Paul has many 3rd and 2nd place competitions. If I could increase my skill level to anywhere near Paul I would be very satisfied with my progress as a climber. There is still a lot of work for many young climbers just like to myself that want to achieve greatness in the sport.

Daniel Woods

Paul Robsinon

Chris Sharma

Climbing Styles

In Rock climbing there are a few different styles available to every person.
1. Bouldering also known as: free climbing, free solo climbing. This is climbing with no ropes on a face. This style of climbing can be very dangerous as the risk for injury is high. Bouldering outdoors a crash pad is always recommended. While bouldering the moves one makes as a climber are more dynamic. Meaning powerful moves such as jumps, leaps, large throws.

2. Top Rope- This involves a belay person and the climber themselves. Usually this is done indoors, such as in a rock gym. Often times ropes are set at the time and all the climber has to do is ascent the wall.

3. Lead Climbing- Very similar to top rope but more for outdoor. The Climber must clip into small hooks in the wall in case they fall, there belay person will be there to catch them. Lead climbing consists of usually smaller more precise moves requiring amazing body control and stamina as well as technique.

First image of Lead climbing

Just the Essentials

In rock climbing you will need some gear if you ever want to give it a solid attempt. Here is a list of the following items a beginner might need.
Climbing shoes (usually very tight with hard rubber bottoms)
Chalk and chalk bag (the chalk helps your hands to sweat less and they also absorb some moisture)
Crash pad (basically a giant mattress that can be compressed on your back)
Climbing harness (to keep you on the wall)
Accessories: Belay clips, Rope (good quality)
This is the basic gear that you will need to get started.

Overview of Blog

My biggest passion currently is rock climbing. In this blog I will be covering many different aspects of the sport as a whole and will attempt to provide a variety of information about the sport to give my followers a grasp on the best sport ever!